Last night marked the first time I ever wished that I had Leslie Knope’s job. Why? Well, who doesn’t dream of having a gaggle of free experts around to help them throw fancy dinner parties? Allow me to explain.

Budget cuts hit Pawnee, and Leslie was forced to tell a group of Recreation Center teachers that five of their classes would soon be cut. Tragic! Leslie shared my grief, adding that she learned valuable skills from Rec classes, like hair braiding, biscuit making, and French kissing (see best quotes below for details).

Meanwhile, Leslie and Justin celebrated another successful date. I’m loving this pairing, by the way. Homely, ambitious Leslie is dating the mountain-climbing, world-traveling awesomeness that is Justin (Parks newbie Justin Theroux). They balance each other well as characters and actors. He also has me intrigued because I wonder if he’s truly as amazing as advertised. Hmm.. Wait! Sorry, I veered.

So, after their date, Justin informed Leslie that he planned on being in Pawnee that week, and Leslie promised him a good time. She soon realized, however, that Pawnee is… well… Pawnee. Jumping off Ann’s suggestion to just cook Justin dinner at home, Leslie decided to throw a dinner party. She invited everyone in the office (sans Jerry – awww) and recruited Andy to be a server with the lure of a $10 per hour compensation.

Ann arrived to Leslie’s house the next day and discovered two things: (1) Leslie was a secret hoarder. (2) Leslie had no idea how to throw a dinner party. After discovering the job was a bit too much for the two of them to handle, Leslie remembered her friends at the Rec Center and began making calls.

When the teacher arrived, she refused Leslie’s payment offer, insisting she’d rather just demonstrate how valuable her classes at the Rec Center are (*wink, wink*). But that isn’t the last help Leslie needed for the evening. Throughout the night, she called upon the cooking class coordinator, the bartending teacher, and the belly dance teacher.

The evening went off smoothly for the most part, except when Wendy showed up. As you might recall, Tom’s green card wife is being sought after by Ron, while Tom remains secretly smitten with her.

The evening ended with a visit from an accounting software teacher. Rather, the evening was killed to death with a boring knife when the accounting software teacher arrived.

Leslie’s blatant use of clout caught up with her the next day when she had to face a disciplinary committee. She got off with a warning, and it was later revealed that she ratted herself out. That’s our Leslie.

Parks and Recreation has been on a LOL streak this season, but last night’s episode was slower than I’d become accustomed to from my friends in Pawnee. Note to writers, dinner parties don’t spell hilarity, you need more Tom, and the comedic value of Ron Swanson around food should never be underestimated.

Now your turn. What did you think of last night’s episode? Did I miss any key moments of hilarity? Mark’s dinner party story perhaps? And tell me: Are you loving Justin Theroux? Sound off below my best quote picks!

Best quotes:

”I’ve been taking these Rec Center classes since I was in high school. It’s where I learned hair braiding and how to make biscuits, French kissing. The French kissing was just from a boy in my biscuits class, but either way, lesson learned.” – Leslie

”If I wanted to bring a large number of deviled eggs, but I didn’t want to share them with anyone else, can you guarantee fridge space?” – Ron

”I think I have to call Child Services and have Leslie taken away from herself” – Ann

”People in this town are just getting into Nirvana. I don’t have the heart to tell them what’s going to happen to Kurt Cobain in 1994” – Tom